


An Offer Was Made

by ry0kiku



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Grayson (Comics)
Genre: Canon Divergence, Hypnos Hijacking, Kidnapping, M/M, Pre-Grayson #10, Restraints, body control
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-28
Updated: 2016-06-28
Packaged: 2018-07-18 19:03:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7326646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ry0kiku/pseuds/ry0kiku
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"The Batman is gone. And you're all alone, deep in the spider's nest, with no hand to guide you out. No hand, but mine."</p><p>Lex Luthor approached Agent 37, with a revelation and an offer. Assuming Lex and Dick met before Grayson #10, and Lex was much more prepared to deal with an agent who won't hesitate to jump over a cliff to get away from him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	An Offer Was Made

**Author's Note:**

> Batman and Grayson and all the characters belongs to DC comics. I own nothing but the strange dream in which Lex put Dick to sleep that inspired this piece.

"Long time no see."

It was a dreadfully familiar voice. Dick froze in the middle of charming the pleasant lady, turning around and found himself face to face with a bald man in a suit. A man wearing a familiar confident smile.

"Mr... Luthor." Dick quickly fixed his own practiced smile, holding out his hand. Lex Luthor welcomed the brief handshake, never dropping his sickening smirk.

Of course. This was an international charity gala in Metropolis, and Lex Luthor's presence here was hardly surprising. Still, given the huge attendance list, Dick hadn't expected to personally run into him. Not this soon anyway.

And for Luthor to recognise him even with Hypnos on...

"Madam, do you mind if I borrow this charming young man for a moment? Private, gentlemen matters."

The lady nodded hastily and retreated, flushing. Dick flashed her an apologetic smile and internally groaned. There goes his mission.

He caught Luthor's gesture to follow him, and his annoyance spiked. He disliked being ordered around, by Luthor of all people, but he made his way anyway to the least crowded corner of the ballroom where the man was waiting.

"No 'thank you' for taking care not to blow your cover, Mr. Grayson?" Luthor casually commented as soon as they were close enough, seemed thoroughly amused.

Dick ignored the obvious taunt.

"You can see my face." He narrowed his eyes, voicing what had been nagging him since the first greeting. Luthor smirked and twirled his wine glass.

"I'm not likely to forget the face of the man I murdered. And," Dark green eyes trained at him, flashing with something he had yet to discern. "It doesn't help that yours is hard to forget."

Dick wished he could have his domino mask and grappling hook back this instant, to get away from the other man's increasingly uncomfortable presence.

Luthor was one of very few people who knew he was alive—he killed Dick to save his life, how ironic is that? And one of the only two with enough power and resources to know of his current... affiliation. The cryptic response barely answered his question, but one thing Dick knew at least from this exchange; Lexcorp could have a hand with Spyral-Tech. Or the other way around, for all he knew.

"I'm on a mission here." Dick hissed. Luthor nodded, still wearing that amused smile.

"I am aware of that."

_I'm not playing this game._

"Then you wouldn't mind if I ask you to cut the chase and just say whatever it is you want from me?"

Luthor twirled his glass, looking thoughtful for a moment, before meeting his eyes once again.

"Very well. I want to save you, Richard."

To say Dick was surprised was an understatement. His polite mask slipped and high chance he was gaping like an idiot for a moment.

"What?"

Luthor took a step forward, and then another. One of his hands was positioned forward as if to reach him. Dick attempted to take a step back to regain his personal space, only to find in horror that he couldn't. His body wouldn't move. He eyed Luthor's outstretched hand, now positioned mere inches from his body.

"Luthor, what—"

"Sleep."

The last thing Dick saw before darkness took him was Luthor's winning smirk and glinting eyes.

.  
.

Dick woke up with a violent gasp, feeling as if he’s just been submerged. He looked down, assessing his situation, and was barely surprised when he found his wrists securely tethered to the armrests of the metal chair he was sitting on. Raising his head, he could register Luthor sitting comfortably across him, eyeing him with an amused smile.

"Your idea of 'saving' is as warped as I remembered." The agent growled, experimentally pulling at the manacles.

_Great, magnetic. Lock-picking isn’t going to do the trick._

Dick guessed his distress was showing since Luthor let out a small, amused chuckle.

“Those are simply precautionary. I have a feeling you may theatrically jump out of the window before I finish making my offer. Don’t worry, they’ll be gone soon enough, depending on your answer.”

Dick glared at him, pushing the word ‘offer’ at the back of his mind. “Where are we?”

“Somewhere safe enough to freely use your real name, Richard Grayson. Nightwing.”

The mention of his old, discarded identity sent a pang through his chest. Dick hadn’t heard that name in a long time, ever since Helena—

Helena. Spyral. Hypnos...

"You hijacked my Hypnos." He realized, remembering his body refusing to move, then somehow shut down at Luthor's command. "How?"

Luthor shook his head, never dropping his smirk. "My, my. Aren't you in no position to interrogate here, Richard? I haven't even spoken of my offer yet."

"I don't need to hear about it to refuse." Dick growled, feeling his head spin. If Luthor could truly control his implants at will, then he needed to get as far away from the creep as possible. Back to Spyral and confront Helena about this. "Sorry to disappoint, but I already have more than enough people to answer to."

Those dark green eyes twinkled, staring long and hard at him. Long enough to make him shift in discomfort.

"You mean your mentor, who have left you in the cold?"

Dick froze. He squirmed as far as his restraints allowed, racking his brain for something, anything, to deny—

"Your messages unread, your calls unanswered, your plea for guidance unheard. Surely you've realized it." Luthor stood up, walking towards him in small, leisure steps. He stopped right in front of his chair, almost too close for comfort. "The Batman is gone. And you're all alone, deep in the spider's nest, with no hand to guide you out."

His hand gripped Dick's chin, forcing him to crane his head up so that their eyes met. "No hand, but mine."

Dick jerked his face away, anger and disgust and slight panic all swirling in him as he desperately tried to bottle them up.

"Is this what you mean by saving me? You want your very own little spy but too lazy to train one, so you just went and kidnapped one in the middle of a mission, and force an offer down his throat?"

Luthor chuckled, moving his hand to pet Dick's head. Dick hissed as he tried to jerk away, only to yelp when the hand tightened on his hair and yanked his head up.

"You're right about one thing. I don't make offers; I force them down others' throat. I figured that I could use a great asset, and who is better than the man working deep in Spyral, implanted with Lexcorp's rightful technology? The man who owed me his life?"

Dick stared back stubbornly at those dark green eyes, even when his scalp and neck was hurting. He didn't say a word, but he figured that a man like Luthor surely could read what his expression and smirk meant.

_Fuck you._

Luthor's smirk dropped, as did his patience. He yanked Dick's head further back, exposing his throat and drew a strangled gasp.

"I got you out of the Murder Machine, boy." The hiss was slow, uncomfortably close to his ear. "And now I got you out of Spyral. All while your great Batman was helpless. _I_ saved _you_. Twice now."

The hand released him and Dick let his head fell forward, fighting the urge to groan. Instead he looked up defiantly, forcing his lips to curl into a smirk.

"Still putting tabs on your better deeds. You've got a long way to be a proper hero, Luthor."

The brows twitched and Luthor raised his hand; Dick half-expected him to put his body through another forced sleep or—less likely—smack his head, but instead, the hand touched his cheek. He blinked and found Luthor's dark eyes hovering close to his own. Uncomfortably close.

"You will learn to show me your gratitude, Richard Grayson. One way or another. Call me no hero if you will, but at least I make sure that debts are paid."

Dick stared back at him, challenging. "Oh, I'll pay them, alright. Though a forewarning; it might not be of your liking."

Luthor withdrew his hand at his reply, his amused smirk back. "I'll tolerate feisty. Just don't overstep your bounds, boy. I killed you once. I won't hesitate to do it again."

This time before he could respond, the hand was raised, the command was issued. And Dick found the implanted nanomachines once again forced his body into blissful darkness.

.

.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I'm afraid this is the end. Thank you for reading!


End file.
